1. What is a favourable location for tourists?
2. Where was a special medicine from birds discovered?
3. Why do some people call Cheltenham a green town?
4. What are the annual events in Cheltenham?
5. Where can people take the waters in a historical building?
6. What name should people remember after visiting Cheltenham?
7. Where is tourism developing with care for the environment?
A. Cheltenham is a small, ancient town in England situated to the north-west of Oxford. It lies below the highest point of the Cotswold Hills and above the level of the River Severn. The town is also called «The Western Gateway». Thanks to its position it has become a popular tourist attraction.
B. The Pittville Pump Room is the largest of the spa constructions in Cheltenham. It is a magnificent, old house of classical style made of white stone. The Pump Room was designed for balls and entertainments and, of course, for taking the medicinal waters. Today, it is still used as a concert hall at festival time and for weddings, and of course, visitors can still take the waters – if they so wish!
C. Tourism is highly developed in Cheltenham and the City Council has to reduce the negative impact of tourists on the town. A lot has been done. The town has developed walking, cycling and public transport routes as an alternative to cars. There is a pool of bicycles that tourists can use for short distance journeys. The local services try to recycle all the packaging, plastic bottles and batteries left by tourists.
D. Many famous people of the past have connections with Cheltenham. Gustav Holst, a well-known English composer of the 19th century, was born in the town. His house is now his birthplace museum. Visitors may learn a lot about Holst's life, his music and his family. The famous Antarctic explorer Edward Wilson was also born in Cheltenham. Now a statue of him stands in the Long Gardens.
E. The beauty and wonderful sights of Cheltenham continue to attract visitors from countries all over the world. For many years people have enjoyed the beauty of Cheltenham's parks, open spaces and the general greenery of the town. Cheltenham has been described as ‘a town within a park’. Montpellier place, which is famous for its wonderful flowers, lies in the centre of the town.
F. Thousands of visitors come to Cheltenham to take part in the festivals which are held in the town every year. The town organises literature, music, jazz and science festivals, attracting names with a national and international reputation from each field. Besides all this, for a week in March the town becomes the centre of the National Gold Cup in horse racing.
The Moneyless Man
For most of us it seems that money makes the world go round. However, not for Mark Boyle who has turned his life into a radical experiment.
Mark Boyle was born in 1979 in Ireland and moved to Great Britain after getting a degree in Business. He set up his own business in Bristol. For six years Mark Boyle managed two organic food companies which made him a good profit.
However, in 2008, he decided to give up earning money. He vowed to live without cash, credit cards, or any other form of finance.
Mark Boyle began to realise that many of the world’s problems are just symptoms of a deeper problem. He thought that money gave people the illusion of independence.
Mark sold his house and started preparing himself for his new life. He posted an advert on a website asking for a tent, a caravan (a vehicle for living or travelling) or any other type of a house. Soon an old lady gave him a caravan for free. At least he then had a roof over his head!
After that, with his pockets empty, Mark was ready to go. He didn't even carry keys as he decided to trust the world a bit more and not lock his caravan. On November 28th (International Buy Nothing Day 2008), he became the Moneyless Man for one whole year.
Everything was different from then on. Mark lived in his caravan on an organic farm where he worked as a volunteer three days a week. In return he got a piece of land to live on and grow his own vegetables. His food was cooked on a stove, and he washed in a shower made from a plastic bag hanging from a tree, and warmed by the sun.
Even breakfast was different. With no morning coffee to brew, Mark had to find an alternative drink to start the day with. So he drank herbal teas, sometimes with some fresh lemon verbena that he could find near the caravan. «It's all very good for you: iron, calcium, anti-oxidants,» Mark said.
Food was the first thing to consider. Mark discovered that there were four ways to find it: looking for wild food, growing his own food, bartering (exchanging his grown food for something else), and using loads of waste food from shops.
Public interest in his project was divided. While a huge number of people supported him, there was criticism of him, particularly on Internet forums.
“People are either very positive about what I'm doing or very negative; I think it's about 70 percent/30 percent. It's funny, if you don't have a massive plasma TV these days, people think you are an extremist,” Mark said.
People tend to ask Mark what he learnt from a year of a moneyless life. “What have I learned? That friendship, not money, is real security,” he answers.
Mark's remarkable journey is described in his new book “The Moneyless Man”, which shows in a detailed way the challenges he faced on the road to his new world.
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